Mental health of pre-clinical medical students in Indonesia during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: A reflection

Perceived awareness and concern for mental health issues among students in Indonesia are still lacking, proceeding before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In order to gain future benefits, this study evaluates pre-clinical medical students' mental health during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on pre-clinical medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Islam Indonesia (FM UII), Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in April 2021. A total sampling method was employed. Participants completed online self-reported questionnaires, including socio-demographic data and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) questionnaire to evaluate mental health. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analysis was performed.

A total of 273 pre-clinical medical students were included in this study. They suffered from depression (35.2%) and stress (40.3%) more than a third and about half suffered from anxiety (50.2%). Females were more likely to have depression (AOR: 2.22; 95%CI: 1.19 to 4.15), anxiety (2.56; 1.42 to 4.61), and stress (3.44; 1.81 to 6.54) than males. Anxiety was less common in medical students in their second (0.48; 0.23 to 0.98) and third (0.29; 0.13 to 0.67) years than in the first year. Being a third-year student was a protective factor for stress (0.38; 0.17 to 0.87).

A high prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among pre-clinical students was observed. This study can become a reflection for educational institutions and policymakers to prepare good strategies to maintain pre-clinical students’ quality and mental health during and after COVID-19 pandemic.